by Dave Shuldes

shuldesd@gmail.com

Confidence Flies

Spring is a “shoulder” season here in southwest Idaho. Run-off is rising on the main stem Boise as well as in our mountain streams, and the South Fork Boise is closed for spawning. The “O” is still an option as well as Duck Valley and the Snake River, but if I just have a few hours to work with I often find myself at the vice this time of year. What am I tying?

After 4 decades of fly fishing in Idaho, below are my “Confidence Flies”. These are the patterns I expect to catch fish on! I’ll break them down by size, from midges to streamers, and add comments on application of use.

1. #18 and #16 Boise River Houdini Weave Midge. I tie these in 2 colors - silver/black (small) UTC wire abdomen with a silver tungsten bead head, and copper/black (small)) UTC wire abdomen with a gold tungsten bead head. Both versions use black peacock ice dub at the thorax, with a spare pearl midge flash/white Antron combination at the wing. Red UTC 70 thread with a prominent collar behind the bead to whip finish. Application - This is my most used point fly (tail end of the tippet) when nymphing the Boise River system in all its forks
2. #16 and #14 Reece’s Fusion Nymph. Gold tungsten bead head, pearl midge flash at the tail, palmered tan ostrich feather with copper (brassie) UTC wire wound through the ostrich at the abdomen, peacock ice dub at the thorax, UTC 70 thread with prominent collar to whip finish. Application - This is often my dropper fly (higher up on the tippet) throughout the Boise River system in all its forks
3. #16 and #14 Stimulators. Blond Elk Hair at both tail and wing. I like to use orange, yellow and/or olive dubbing at the abdomen, ribbed with small gold UTC wire, a palmered brown hackle up the abdomen and a palmered grizzly hackle at the thorax. A tag of red UTC thread at either the tail end of the abdomen or at the collar can help with visibility. Application - this is my favorite caddis imitation in alpine lakes fishing. A close favorite is the Elk Hair Caddis, especially on rivers
4. #12 and #14 chironomid imitations using chartreuse/black or red/black brassie UTC wire Houdini weave on the abdomen. Gold tungsten bead head to suit the hook. The thorax and wing are similar to the midges in pattern #1 - black peacock ice dub and the pearl midge flash/white Antron wing. The material used is less sparse at these larger sizes. Whip finish a red collar with UTC 70 thread. Application- these patterns are extremely valuable at Duck Valley, particularly at Billy Shaw in the spring
5. #10, #12 and #14 Prince Nymph. Gold tungsten bead head to suit the hook. A pair of small brown olive goose biots at the tail. Peacock abdomen in the classic version with gold or copper ribbing using UTC wire (brassie). I also really like to customize this pattern with an amber colored ice dub on the abdomen. I use a pair of medium white goose biots for the wing in the classic version, and a pair of medium brown olive goose biots for the wing in the amber version. Application - nymphing the Boise River in all its forks with the classic version. Use of the amber body/brown olive wing version of this fly on a slow sinking line in the alpine lakes has netted some of my best fish over the years
6. #10 Gartside Sparrow. 2X long hook. Red UTC 140 thread. 4mm tungsten bead head in copper, olive or blue. Wrap the front half of the hook with .025 lead-free round wire to add weight. Tie in dark brown pheasant rump feathers in a generous length mixed with sparse black Krystal Flash at the tail. Dubbing for abdomen/thorax is dyed squirrel body hair - a mix of olive (primary color), red, and orange (sparsely mixed in). The goal is a striped appearance. Black Krystal flash added as “legs” towards the hook point. Wrap one pheasant rump feather (the kind with long blue/green shiny barbs) around the hook behind the bead and tie the barbs back towards the tail as a 360-degree wing. Finish with a couple of pheasant after-shaft feathers (found underneath the rump feathers on the body) wrapped just behind the bead head over the top of the where the wing is tied in. Use the red thread to whip finish a distinct collar. Application - Use as a streamer to imitate a bait fish or leeches in almost any body of water in Idaho - rivers or lakes. This is my most trusted confidence fly at Duck Valley in the spring and in the alpine lakes in summer and fall.

There’s the top half dozen! Almost all these patterns have YouTube videos available for tying instructions if you type in the key words found in the pattern descriptions. Happy tying and tight lines everyone!